The mediating effect of flow experience on social shopping behavior
Published online on May 26, 2016
Abstract
This study explores the relationships among the following four dimensions, with a particular focus on how flow experience mediates social shopping behavior: (1) user beliefs; (2) website quality, including information quality, system quality, and service quality; (3) flow experience; and (4) social shopping behavior, as demonstrated by a sample of the online consumer population. We gathered online surveys (n = 386) in Taiwan to test the relationships among the four dimensions laid out in our structural equation model. The results confirm that flow experience has a mediating effect on social shopping behavior. They also show that there is a significant correlation between user beliefs, website quality, and flow experience. The results fill an empirical gap in the theoretical literature on social shopping behavior, especially areas involving website quality and the beliefs of users. They also offer insight into the positive effect which flow experience has on social shopping behavior. This study offers a valuable contribution by exploring in detail the way in which flow experience affects social shopping behavior through strengthening the influence of both website quality and user beliefs.